


The Ghost of a Second Chance

by beingbaz



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-20
Updated: 2012-03-20
Packaged: 2017-11-02 06:56:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/366190
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beingbaz/pseuds/beingbaz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The night before Draco's to get his Dark Mark, he's met with four ghosts intent on saving him from the doomed life he has chosen and to show him that there can be something better than doing what's expected of him.</p><p>Inspired by "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ghost of a Second Chance

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, no money gained.  
> Written for fun in 2006, recently edited and renamed. Original title: "Second Chances."

**-Prologue-**

'Twas fucking midsummer and all through the house, not a creature was stirring but a blonde young man furiously masturbating in his bedroom, hoping he'd get exhausted enough to forget his thoughts and finally be able to sleep.

It was the third night in a row of sleeplessness. He knew he needed sleep. His eyes were more shadowed than normal, his cheeks somehow more pale. But these were his last nights of freedom, and fear kept him from sleeping. The very next afternoon, he was to go with his mother to a place he'd never been to and become a man. It was finally time, the Dark Lord had decided, for young Draco Malfoy to receive the highest honor, the Dark Mark. Dumbledore was dead, that blasted Potter brat had vanished from the map once school had ended, and he needed to refresh his crop of recruits. Too many of the old Death Eaters, he'd been told, simply couldn't hack it anymore. And when the Dark Lord wanted fresh blood, he got it.

Draco's hand pumped up and down, he was already sweating and jerking his hips up off the bed. He growled desperately in the back of his throat, and when he finally came, there was one word on his lips.

"...Nnngh, _Potter!_ "

He dragged his hand from beneath his pajama pants, finally fully spent, and only then did he sleep.

**-One-**

Less than an hour later, Draco felt his shoulder being gently shaken.

"Wha... what?" Draco croaked, feeling the strain that lack of sleep gives to the body. He blinked several times, then backed up abruptly into his headboard, eyes wide in shock. "You!"

"Hello there, young Master Malfoy. Surprised to see me?"

"You're dead!"

Dumbledore chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "Of course I'm dead. Severus killed me, you saw it with your own eyes."

"But.... Ho-how?" Draco stuttered. "Why?"

"How? With the _Avada Kedavra_. And why? My dear boy, that's simple. He did it for you. Because of the Unbreakable Vow he took, which you can thank your mother for. She saved your skin. Knew, as I did, that you couldn't kill me. Not that Severus breathed a word of it to me, because of the Vow. I knew though.

"Also, because you must be wondering, I came back to keep you safe." Dumbledore just looked at the blonde young man for a moment, another smile gracing his mouth. "Harry's not the only one with a prophecy, you know."

Draco just stared, for once unable to respond. Maybe it was just the ghost of Hogwart's most famous Headmaster sitting on the edge of his bed, maybe it was him hallucinating. But he couldn't think of a damned thing to say.

"I'm here, Master Malfoy, to prevent you from making the worst mistake of your life."

"Mistake! I'm being a man! I'm doing what my father wants, my mother, what's expected of me!"

"Of course you are, of course," Dumbledore replied, absently looking up at the canopy above Draco's bed. "Now, please listen to me, as my time here with you is short."

"But I..."

Dumbledore just kept speaking, over-riding anything Draco might have said.

"You see me here, a ghost, quite dead. And, as with every living thing, this is naturally to be your fate. Everything dies, as is the cycle of life. I lived long, was happy, and did many wondrous things in my time. You, Master Malfoy, may not be so lucky. If you follow the course you're on, you'll not live to see old age."

"Live fast, die young," Draco mumbled rebelliously.

Dumbledore slanted his eyes over to the blonde, who decided shut-the-fuck-up immediately. Dumbledore had been a force to be reckoned with in life. Who knew what creepy things he could do in death besides just show up at his bedside?

"Now," Dumbledore continued, "Assuming everything I set up before my death is working properly, you're to be visited tonight by three ghosts."

Now Draco couldn't keep silent. "What is this? Yet another remake of that Dickens' _A Christmas Carol_ or something?"

"Be grateful, my boy, for that was this magic's inspiration. Without having recently re-read that story, I wouldn't have been able to come up with a way to save you from yourself. Because, in case you didn't know, it'll be Voldemort who kills you in the end, never mind how gratefully, how happily in your worship, you head off into his war."

"The Dark Lord kills me?"

"You die by his hand. While he leads his cause, while you fight for him, doing what you think he wants. So, yes."

Draco stared past Dumbledore for several moments, racking his mind for anything he'd done recently to displease the Dark Lord besides being unable to kill the Headmaster.

Swallowing once, Draco asked, "Can I change this? I mean, can I keep him from killing me?"

"Master Malfoy, that remains to be seen. Your future will be in your hands by the end of this night."

"But I can change what you saw? In that prophecy?"

Before Draco's eyes, Dumbledore began to fade. "Drink the vial on the table. When you wake, in one hour, the first ghost will be with you. After each ghost, take another drink, and there will be another ghost, 'til the third and final."

As the Headmaster grew more and more faint, Draco tried again. "But Dumbledore, what about the prophecy? You saw me die, didn't you? Tell me!"

Dumbledore smiled again, less than smoke, less than shadow. "Which prophecy?"

And he was gone. Draco looked around his quiet, empty room, swallowing many times in his nervousness. He finally let his eyes rest on the vial near his bed, and with a shaking hand, drank.

Seconds after setting the vial back on his bedside table, he was out.

**-Two-**

The light seemed to sneak in between his closed eyelids. Mentally, Draco groaned. What had he drank last night? He hated morning sunlight.

Rolling over and tugging up his covers, Draco readied himself for another bought of sleep, but couldn't settle before he heard the clearing of a throat nearby.

His eyes opened, and he squinted instantly, defending his pale eyes from the light.

"Hello, there, Master Draco Malfoy. I don't believe we ever had the pleasure of being acquainted."

Draco sat up. A woman with red-colored hair was sitting at the end of his bed, and she simply shined from some glory within.

"Could you dim it a bit?" was the only thing to come out of Draco's mouth.

The woman grinned, her green eyes crinkling beautifully, her mouth showing strong white teeth. The light dimmed to a shimmering outline around her body. And, to Draco's mind, though she said they'd never met, the woman looked very familiar.

"Who the hell are you, anyway?"

"In my time, I was called Lily."

"Lily.... Ohmigod, you're Potter's mum." Her smiled widened. Draco continued his thought, "Wow. It's like they all said. You've pretty much got the same eyes.... 'Cept his lashes are thicker than yours..."

And Lily's smile widened. "It's nice of you to notice."

"So, you're my first ghost? Time's past, and all that rot?" Draco had slipped into his sardonic drawl, his lips into that like-I-believe-this-shit grin.

"Of course, young man. As Albus told you, the story was the base of the magic, three ghosts: Past, Present, and Future."

"You were never in _my_ past."

"Not directly, no. But my life carried Harry's, protected him, somehow made him safe. He was an innocent, you know."

"The-Boy-Who-Lived," Draco said, raising his eyebrow sarcastically.

"Yes. His innocence, and my love, saved him. So, that's what I am."

Draco laughed now. "The ghost of Mothers' Love? Right."

Lily leaned forward, a gentle hand against his cheek. "No. The ghost of Innocence."

The room around them blurred, and suddenly they were standing in the forest at the edges of the Malfoy Estate.

Draco looked around, somehow comforted with the familiar scenery. Not that he'd been in this particular grove of trees in many years, but he'd played here as a child. His mouth dropped open when he saw himself, many years younger, stumbling and laughing along with another young boy, into this place. He whipped his eyes to Lily's, whose hand now rested on his shoulder.

Her smile was gentle. "You were innocent once, too, you know. Before your family completely warped your young mind and turned you against all that is right, gentle, and good."

"What are we doing here?" Draco said. He remembered this place, this time, and watching it unfold before his eyes only made it worse, somehow.

He and the boy had settled back against a log, shoulder to shoulder, talking about childish things in quiet voices. He knew what came next.

"We're here to remind you that some memories are pleasant reminders, even when they hurt you."

The two boys’ faces were close together, the blonde with his sweet face, the other boy with his ruddy cheeks. Their whispers grew softer, more wondrous. Draco closed his eyes, knowing what came next, unwilling to watch.

"Don't be a coward, boy. You think you'll be a man soon? A man can watch what happens, can acknowledge it as part of his past, no matter how he'd like to bury it. Look."

Draco opened his eyes, his heartbeat filling his ears. The boys were closer, still whispering. What had he been, six, seven, when this had happened, Draco wondered. He'd tried so hard to forget...

A moment, a breath passed, and the two boys’ lips had come together, soft and exploring.

" _Draco Malfoy, what in the name of the Dark Lord do you think you're doing? And you too, Blaize!_ ”

Lucius Malfoy stormed into the clearing, his mouth an angry line, eyes shooting angry daggers. The two boys had shot apart, fear in their faces.

But Lucius hadn't finished his rant yet. "You, Zabini, go home now, and don't think I'll keep this from your parents. They'll be getting a visit from me shortly. Go. _Now!_ " Blaize ran, a glimpse over his shoulder at the young Draco, before he was lost in the trees.

Lily's hand gently squeezed Draco's shoulder. "That's enough now," she said. "We both know what happens next."

Despite the tears of rage that wanted to spill, Draco gritted his teeth and spoke through it. "Yes. My father takes me home and beats the living shit out of me, telling me how he won't have any kind of fairy ponce for a son."

"The death of innocence."

"I never did find out what happened to Blaize that night, you know. I'd had to recover, and Blaize was never really my friend again after that."

"That was the night you learned that, to keep those you loved safe, keep them apart. You aged by leaps and bounds because of this experience. Too much, too fast. And all because of a man filled with fear and hate."

Draco glared at her. "Don't speak of my father. He's a great man."

"A great man afraid of the love between two young boys. Or afraid of the love that might blossom between men. But I won't speak of it, as it upsets you so. You weren't innocent anymore after this. You began your decent into darkness and loneliness after this day. Didn't you ever realize?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes, it does. He knew what loving one certain man would do to you. And he did his best to prevent it. Didn't Dumbledore tell you of the prophecy?"

Draco laughed mirthlessly. "Which one?"

And Lily smiled again, slightly. "Ah, that Albus. Always so secretive, even when he means to tell it all." Draco merely looked at her, waiting. "If he didn't tell you, neither shall I. But you'll see, young Malfoy. Very soon you'll see."

The world around her faded, the world around him, and he found himself back in bed, her hand again somehow against his cheek. She eased back, and the glow around her intensified once again.

Draco watched her 'til her light grew so bright, he had to cover his eyes.

"Now, drink your tonic, Draco."

"Wait! How soon will I know about these prophecies? What they mean?" He tried to look at her through squinted eyes, but could barely make out her image in the brilliance.

"The one who comes after me will let you see more. Best of luck, young Master...." The sudden darkness caused Draco to whip away his hand. A single candle on his nightstand gave faint glow, and he saw nothing else hiding in the shadows.

He wondered, for a moment, what would happen if he just went back to sleep without drinking. _Don't be coward..._ A whisper through his thoughts... _A man can watch what happens._

He drank. He slept.

- **Three-**

Someone was snoring lightly next to him. Draco grunted, shoved back an elbow reflexively and connected with nothing. Opening his eyes, he was startled to see a familiar face before his own.

Feeling a few hard taps on his head, Draco heard, "Funny looking when he sleeps, isn't he?" Draco looked behind him, to see a man whose hands were settling back behind his head, leaning against the headboard.

"Shit. Present, I take it?"

The man bowed his head ever so slightly, his dark hair gleaming in the moonlight coming through a nearby window. "At your service. But you can call me Regulus."

"And how the hell do I know you?"

"We're cousins, of a sort. Your mother's family side."

Draco chuckled, eyes searching the man's face for familiar features. "Joy."

"Stop staring at me boy, and take a look at the other one here. Him. He's the one you need to see."

"If you're the ghost who's gonna help save me and tell me all that prophecy shite, why should I look at him then?"

"Because, you twat, if you're lucky, he's gonna save you."

"I thought you guys were going to help me save me?"

"You do it for him."

"Ha. Yeah, right. Why in the name of hell would I do anything for old scar-head?"

"Because."

Draco glared at the man, Regulus. "Just full of wit and wisdom, are you?" Draco asked as Regulus merely smirked.

The blonde looked back at Harry Potter, sleeping on his side with a hand tucked close to his face. He reached out to tuck some of the black hair behind his ear, and was shocked to feel its softness under his fingers, shocked that it moved as he wished.

"I thought old Ebenezer couldn't touch anyone or affect anything in that story."

Another hard tap to the head. "Haven't you ever heard the words, _based on_ before? As in they were what inspired the creator to tweak their own version? Not everything has to be identical, you know."

"Sure, sure."

"You can touch him, you've already seen that, Blondie. Dare to do more?"

"What, so you can watch, you perv? Not a chance."

The body next to his shifted. "Mrr... nng..." Harry began to groan in his sleep, the fingers Draco now stared at twitched.

"What if he wakes up?"

At the silence in the room, Draco risked a look to the man behind him. Only to find no one there.

He looked back at Harry, whose eyes were now open, on him. Staring, nearly bug-eyed.

"M-Malfoy? What the fuck are you doing here?" Harry sat up, pulling the covers with him. "Why are you in... why are you in my bed?!"

Mouth agape, Draco yet again was at a loss for speech.

Brilliance struck him, an easy way to get out. "Well, Potter, I don't want to be here. It's your bloody dream, not mine."

Harry looked around. "Dream?"

"What, you've never had people you know in your dreams?"

"Of course, but... You've never been in my bed before, not here. My bed at Hogwarts-" Draco's eyebrows shot up "-but never here."

"Well, then, it's not so strange, is it? You dreaming about me. So. In those dreams at Hogwarts, what did we do? Fist fights? Checkers?" He moved his face closer to Harry's, taunting. "What'd we do?"

Harry blushed, his eyes flashing down to take in a glimpse of Draco's mouth before returning to his eyes. "We... talked."

Draco grinned lewdly. "Talked, hmm? What about? Quidditch? A strategy exchange?" Harry's eyes dipped again to watch Draco's hand sliding across the blanket.

"We talked about... about...." Harry gulped, and his hand shot out to grab Draco's wrist.

"What's the matter, Potter? You scared of a hand now?"

Harry's eyes looked back into Draco's, and Draco could see lust in them, not fear. And Draco's hand was moving again, pulled by Harry's own.

"No," Harry said, his voice soft and deep. He pressed Draco's hand against the hardness hidden under his blanket. "We... talked... about this..."

Draco's mouth was dry. He'd secretly thought the Potter boy was gay, but it was like an elusive hope. Something to be wanted, wished for, but unable to attain. Despite the fact that Draco hadn't touched another person romantically, even sexually, since Blaize that day ages ago, his body knew what his mind refused.

He knew he was gay, he knew who he wanted. The shock, really, was that the one person he'd wanted, he'd teased, tormented, and pulled any number of third-year-I-like-you-but-won't-tell-you tricks on wanted him as well. Despite the fact that he'd brought about the death of the black-haired boy's mentor, that he'd acted as though he hated him, Harry Potter wanted him. Him, Draco Malfoy, bastard exemplar. He should be hated, it would have been for the best, and he'd tried so much to keep Potter safe from him. But the hardness under his hand, the willingness from Harry, teased Draco.

Shocked from his thoughts, he looked down to see Harry's hand sliding up his leg atop the blanket, slowly. He looked back at Harry, as he'd been staring at his own lightly rubbing hand during his thinking time.

"And then we'd... well... stop talking altogether...."

In short order, despite his shyness, Draco and Harry were kissing, hard and hungry. Harry pulled back the blanket, and slid his hand beneath Draco's waistband before the blonde knew exactly what was going on. The feeling of a hand that wasn't his own pulling on his cock almost made Draco come instantly. The kiss broke apart as he strained back, eyes tightly closed against the exquisite pleasure-pain of another's touch.

"Close," he ground out, and Harry's hand slowed as he eased over Draco and took his mouth again.

All Draco could think was how good this was feeling, how he wanted it to never end. How could he have known that Potter would somehow know what to do? How delicious this would feel? How fucking hard it was to keep from shooting off into Harry Potter's fucking talented hand?

Harry bit at his ear, then murmured, "I don't want you to come yet, Drake."

"Drake?" the blonde choked out.

"My dream, my fantasy, _Drake._ So you're not gonna come 'til I'm all the way inside you."

Draco panted, eyes wide, "Inside me?"

"Mmm, yes," Harry growled, looking at him hungrily. "High and hard inside you. I'm going to ride you like you've never been ridden in your life."

_Say it out, get it out now!_ Draco thought. "I haven't."

Harry paused, his eyes still gleaming. "Haven't?"

"Ever been... ridden... I mean...." Draco mumbled. "I've never had sex with someone... else before...."

Harry leaned back, a cocky grin on his face. "Well, I have to say, this is the first time you've been a virgin in these dreams. Then again, technically so am I. But, it's my dream, Drake, and it goes how I want it to."

"But I...."

Harry leaned forward, his arm sliding under the pillow beneath Draco's head, his lips a hair from the blonde's. "Admit it, Malfoy, you want me inside you. Don't you?"

"I do... I mean...."

Harry bit at Draco's bottom lip. "You want to feel me fucking you, don't you? Making you come harder than _you've_ ever even dreamed.... Hell, maybe even harder than I've dreamed you have. Hmm?"

"I...."

"Don't you, Drake? Don't you want me to be your first? You be mine?"

"I just...."

"Admit it. Do you want me?"

Draco looked at Harry, the black-haired man's face set so seriously, as though he needed to know, to honestly know. And because of that, Draco wasn't able to lie. His reality, or even Harry's fantasy, for once in his life, he wanted to be touched, honestly touched.

"I want you, Harry Potter."

"You damn well better." Harry crushed his lips to Draco's, tasting him, and claiming him as his own. "You're mine tonight, Drake, and I don't plan on giving you back anytime soon. I'm going to fuck you, and you're going to love it."

"I already love you. How bad could it be?"

Harry stared. "You've never said that in my dreams before. I've said it, but you never have."

"Just shut up and fuck me, Harry." Draco moved his body under Harry's, kissing him roughly, needing to lose himself in this. He couldn't offer Harry anything else but this, and whether Harry remembered it in the morning wasn't important. He was going to be fucking killed by Lord Voldemort, Draco remembered, and if he was going to die, he was going to die happier than he'd ever been before in his life. He'd give his virginity to Harry, some kind of secret good-bye present thing, and thereby be given Harry's own. And he'd treasure it to death.

Harry pulled his hand from beneath the pillow, his wand held there. A brief spell, and gel of some kind oozed from the wand tip to Harry's palm before the wand was tossed and Draco was well lubed and readied for Harry's hardness.

It was painful at first, for them both. Harry's pain came from Draco's tightness, and Draco's from Harry's hard cock splitting him open no matter how well he'd been stretched. But before long they'd gotten a rhythm, with Harry fucking Draco, and Draco with his hands clenched to the bed.

He knew all that it would take for him to come would be a few strokes of his cock, but he wanted to wait, wanted to get Harry to come first. But, despite all best laid plans, Harry's hand took up Draco's cock, and as he thrust in and out, he tugged and pulled, and soon Draco shouted aloud, and his come shot out onto his stomach and chest. Of course, this was shortly followed by Harry climaxing hard into Draco and falling on his body, the blonde's come wet and slick between them mingling in the sweat.

"Ah... well...." panted Harry, his body still quivering from the aftershocks.”I think I'll start a dream diary after this...Because this'll get me off for years to come..."

Draco laughed. "You get off on the sight of me, Potter." He then hissed when the black-haired boy pulled out and pulled him to Harry's chest. Harry then kissed the side of Draco's head, smiling sleepily.

"Probably, but now I'll always know that look on your face when your coming."

"In your dreams, of course."

"Ha. Like I believe this is a dream anymore. How'd you get in here, anyway?" Harry yawned, stroking a hand down the blonde's arm, feeling tired and satisfied.

"How do you know I haven't always been here? Secret and invisible, only coming out at night?"

Harry chuckled. "Yeah, you've come out all right. Congrats."

"Go to sleep, Harry." Draco tipped up his head for a kiss. "You'll understand it all in the morning."

"Sure. Oh, and by the way, Drake?"

Draco closed his eyes, sure this would end up disastrously in the morning, and wishing with all his might that he could stay.

"What?"

"I love you, too, you know."

Draco just kept his eyes tightly closed, waiting for the feeling of Harry being asleep. He was sure he'd know it, and he was right. He slowly got out of the bed, found his pajamas, and went in search of Regulus, sure he'd find them somewhere in this place.

He found him three doors down, sipping brandy and smirking.

"Well. You two were loud enough to... haha, wake the dead, so to speak."

"What was the point in bringing me here?"

The ghost Regulus frowned at him, head tipped to the side. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet, boy? After all this time?"

"Figured out what? What does any of this have to do with saving me, with prophecies, with any goddamn thing but to tease me with what I've wanted for years? Wanted, but can't even have?"

"Just had, point one. Two, I already told you, you'll be saved for him. Because of him and the love you could discover tonight if you play your cards right. Three, this _was_ prophesied."

"What, a bunch of stupid ghosts, and getting shagged by him?"

"Not the ghosts, no, but the shag? Yeah, that."

Draco rolled his eyes in disbelief. "Oh really? Since fucking when?"

"Since you were two years old, your parents knew you'd be Harry's lover. They wanted to know who you'd be with for the rest of your days, who you'd love. So they could approve or disapprove, guide, whatever. And what they saw? Well, it's what you were just doing. You've been gay from birth, kid, despite your old man trying to beat and scare it out of ya. And now you're a man. Welcome to the club."

Draco's mouth had dropped open during this little speech, shock vibrating through him. "You mean tonight, this night, with Harry and me was fated?!?! That means I'm gonna die anyway?!?!"

Regulus held up a hand that was missing the thumb and middle finger, ones essential for spell casting, as he motioned for Draco to be silent.

"You might die the way it's been prophesied. Surely you've gotten that by now. But understand this. What your parents knew of this was the culmination of a relationship that had been sparked years before and was being commemorated once again in this place during a vacation. Same, but different. You can change your fate, boy. Dumbledore wanted to save you from this death, so you and Harry could do that happily-ever-after thing."

"But how the fuck is _that_ gonna happen!" Draco cried, doing his best to keep from shouting and waking the sleeper three doors away. "What the hell am I supposed to be learning that I'm not getting here?"

Regulus stood from the chair he'd been sitting in near the fire and strode quickly to Draco, smacking him on the back of the head with his free hand.

"That there is always hope, you empty-headed twit. I swear, the idea of you and me related, honestly. Where did the brains in our family go?"

"You're the...”

"Yes, yes, I'm the ghost of Hope. Don't get your knickers in a twist, boy, I thought you'd do better coming to that realization on your own. Didn't know you'd be a dunderhead."

Regulus resumed his place in the chair with Draco trailing him.

"I'm supposed to hope for my own life?"

"You're supposed to hope that maybe, if you change your life somehow, you'll be allowed to live a hell of a lot longer. Idiot."

"Oh. Is there anything else I'm supposed to be learning?"

"Did he shag you senseless or something? What else do you need to know besides to keep up hope?"

Draco shrugged, and looked to the fire. Regulus smiled.

"You looked just like my brother when you did that," he said.

"You have a brother?"

The man tipped up his glass and sipped. "Mm, yes, but he was generally disowned years ago."

As Draco watched, the glass Regulus held became the vial from Dumbledore, and the room blurred back into his own. Setting the vial down, Regulus turned away from the bed, heading for the door.

"Now, boy, drink up that last bit, and ready yourself the the next ghost. He's a right prick, and you'll do your best to be wary of him, he's got a temper, thinks he's a big man."

"Who is it?" Draco asked from his seat back on the bed. All this time warping was messing with his head. But he knew it was all real, from the soreness in his ass to the dried cum on his belly.

"You'll see, my boy, you'll see. By the way. Next time you see my bastard brother's godchild... tell him he's on the right track with the horcruxes."

"But I don't know your brother's name!"

The closer Regulus got to the door, the less of him that could be seen. It was as though he planned to literally fade into the woodwork.

"My brother's one of the most famous wizards known to the world, boy. Sirius Black."

And he was gone.

Draco's eyes widened in shock. No shit, he thought.

He took up the vial and looked into it. No more than the tiniest of sips left in. But he took it to his lips and drank.

**-Five-**

"Wake up, you fuckin' prick, I've got some things to say to you."

Draco's eyes flashed open at the harsh, familiar voice. "What the fuck?" Draco said. He sat up slowly, eyes wide, to watch the figure at the end of the bed pacing.

"I've been bitching at you for five fucking minutes, about time you fucking paid attention."

Draco couldn't help but stare. He was looking at himself, or rather - he was looking at a tormented version of himself, cut open with gaping wounds, arms twisted and broken. And the pacing he'd thought he'd seen, was merely the ghostly body floating back and forth across the floor at the end of his bed. This Other Draco was so broken, so tormented, it nearly hurt Draco to look at him.

"Yeah, get a good look, you fucker. This is all your fault."

"How the hell can you be here...? How can I be having this conversation? I'm not dead! How the hell can you be my ghost?!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know you're expecting the ghost of some bullshit future. But they told me I got a second chance so I could come back in time and kick your ass for shit you're gonna do. And you know what, I took this chance so fucking fast, I got whiplash."

"How? When?"

"This is you, I'm you, next week. And there's not even any dignity to it. You go out to serve our _righteous lord_ , ready to do Dark Magic and kill for king and wizard kind. You know what happens? Why I look like this? You dumbass, you went and found Harry Potter. You snuck into his fucking house." Another blur, and there's Harry, sleeping again under his covers, contentment on his face. "This house. _And in his bid to kill off Harry Potter, while he's fucking sleeping, mind you, he forgets he sent you here, and brings the fucking house down on you!_ "

Draco's couldn't help but gasp, fear clutching his chest. "So Potter dies here too then?"

"You fucking wish, you moron. _You_ arrive when Potter's still here. But just before the Dark Lord shows up, those Weasley twins get word, Apparate in, snag him, and bring him away to safety. You dumbass!"

"I'm... I'm sorry?" Draco stuttered, forcing himself to look at what he could become.

"Why the hell are you sorry for me, you jackass! You're the one who chooses to go and do Voldemort's work. I'm just the product of that. You're the idiot. I'm the idiot. Shit."

"Is there anything else I can do to change it? I mean, I've found out about one of the prophecies, but...."

"Which one? I found out about one the day I died. Ha. Seconds before, actually. I found this, sphere, memory sphere or something. It had a prediction in it, about us. And it was witnessed between that Trelawny woman, and Dumbledore. Was written on it. I wonder how it got there...?"

Draco smirked. Dumbledore _had_ said “assuming everything I set up is working properly," right? Draco guessed that had been in Dumbledore's strategy as well.

"I saw my death, the house crashing in on me, just a quick flash, and the knowledge that, this time, it was too late. And then, well, the house came down."

"So it can be changed."

"Fuck if I know. Somehow. That's what you're supposed to figure out. I'm pretty much... I don't know, the fucking ghost of Second Chances, or something. What ghosts did you get tonight, anyway?"

"If you're my future, shouldn't you know?"

Other Draco laughed humorlessly. "I'm the future that's already happened. You've been creating new paths tonight. I don't know any of what's happened. Why?"

Now Draco chuckled. "Wow. Well, we lost our virginity tonight."

"No shit?"

"No shit. I wish you could have been there. It was... awesome. Better than I'd expected, even, ha, dreamed."

"I could know."

"How?"

"The past and future merge if we touch, skin to skin. If you, I don't know, take my hand or something."

"Yeah, hand."

"Ha. Perv-o. I know what you're thinking. But that's all it takes. Maybe that's your last lesson, to merge what might happen with what's happening, and face it bravely. 'Cause if you're going to die no matter what, in this house, I'll stay this way but gain your knowledge. If not... what could it hurt?"

"Me. A lot."

"Simple question: Are you getting your Dark Mark tomorrow? Going to go through with this fucking madness?"

"I don't... I don't think so. Not if I can keep on living. And, what I've found out tonight.... I want to change what's going to happen, I don't want to be like you. I don't want to be you."

The Other Draco floated closer, a broken hand extended.

And Draco took it.

The Other Draco suddenly hunched over, groaning deep in the back of his throat. "Fuck. _Wow._ "

And Draco grinned. "Fuck. Exactly. And it was great."

Light glowed brightly, brilliant, but not blinding. And the Other Draco's body healed, becoming upright again, and you could see how much healthier he got by the second. Draco breathed in sharply, finally daring to hope.

And the Other Draco pulled away, still panting. " _That_ was the other prophecy? Where was _that_ fucking years ago?"

"Look at you. At me! I fucking live because of tonight? Yes!" Draco jumped from the bed, dancing around.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't get so excited. This is what _could_ be. If you play your cards right. According to this, according to what you see now, you will. I fucking hope you will."

"Me, too. Can you tell me how?"

"I think you've got to figure that out for yourself. But one thing." The Other Draco's hand whipped out, sharply smacking Draco on the back of his head.

"Ow!"

"Don't fuck this up. Not only do you have a second chance at life, you've got a chance with the man of your fucking dreams. And holy shit, he wants us! Fucking dream of dreams, right? _Do not fuck this up!_ "

And Draco laughed. "I don't want to, not if I can help it. But is this the part where we fade back to my bed?"

"Do you want to go back? Back to your bedroom, in that house where you know once you wake, your future is sealed?"

"Can't I come back to Harry in the morning?"

"Oy, moron, you don't know where he lives yet. You don't find out 'til next week. There's only one way to stay. Here." Other Draco handed him the vial he'd been drinking that'd held the sleeping potion. The one that was empty.

"What do I do?"

"Loving him isn't enough. You would have bound yourself to each other if Father hadn't interfered, bound yourselves a long time ago. Blood to blood and heart to heart, as that's where it comes from. Magic itself is blood and heart. As is love. Binding of the blood, to show commitment. Binding of hearts to make the magic real."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

Other Draco chuckled. "To me, that's obvious. To you, you'll figure it out. Now pick. Here or home?"

Draco thought a moment. "Can I figure things out here and go home if I decide that?"

"If you can find your way home, sure."

"I'll stay."

Other Draco gave a small smile. "Good choice."

The light shined again, as it had when Other Draco had healed, and Draco was alone with Harry in the room, the black vial in his hand.

He looked at the bed, at Harry's sleeping form. And for at least fifteen minutes, stood there thinking, eyes switching back and forth from the vial, to Harry, and to the door to the room. He could have everything... or he could have his Dark Mark, and do what's expected of him. He could have what his family tried to deny him, could have what this night was for. A future, a life with Harry.

Once more, he looked to the doorway. Draco knew what he could do, what was expected. Or what he would do, be with Harry, love Harry. He'd decided.

Draco crawled into bed with Harry, kissing him slowly awake, and awakening his body as well.

"Harry?"

"Mmm?"

"I need you to trust me, okay?"

Harry quirked an eyebrow. "Okay...."

"Which means I need you to bleed for me a bit, give it up willingly, in trust."

Harry just looked at him for a moment. "How much would you need?"

Draco held up the vial, which was no more than two inches tall, no more than two inches around. "Just half this. Half you, half me. Blood magic."

Once Harry agreed, magic brought blood forth, let it mingle, and after a passionate kiss, the blood was shared between them.

Harry wiped his hand across his lips, wiping away traces of blood and saliva. "What was that about, Draco? I think I get it, but...."

"Blood is life from the heart, which is love. It's a joining of our lifeblood. A promise, I suppose, to be with each other always."

"So you just married us or something?"

"I think so. Effectively."

"What's going on then? And how did you get here again?"

Draco laughed, kissing Harry again, and hard. "I'll tell you in the morning."

**-Epilogue-**

That next morning, Draco did his best to explain things to Harry. Neither of them really understood everything, but they knew they stood together, from then on.

They showered together after another round of delicious sex, and while the steam built between them, and the water slicked their bodies, a brilliant light glowed in the center of Harry's bed, amid the covers.

A small glass sphere appeared, gold swirled across it. It read, _Harry Potter/Draco Malfoy to A. Dumbledore by S. Trelawny._ Eventually the two will emerge from the shower, laughing and happy, and when one of them touches it, they'll see their future. Them standing proud and tall together, their love shining true, and the Dark Lord, Voldemort, crumbling before them.

And they live happily ever after.


End file.
